Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister update the House on measures to strengthen Australia’s border security?

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hindmarsh for his question and his ongoing interest in the security of this nation. Can I also pay tribute to the outgoing Minister for Home Affairs, the member for Macquarie, Bob Debus. Thank you for your counsel in recent days, Bob; it has been very helpful to me. It is well and truly the case that he has done a great deal of work in this portfolio. He has shown a great interest in border protection and the interests of securing this nation.

The government is committed to keeping Australia’s borders secure and to working with our partners across the region to stop people smugglers. The government’s approach to unauthorised boat arrivals includes retaining the excision of offshore islands, retaining mandatory detention of all unauthorised boat arrivals, retaining offshore processing on Christmas Island for all unauthorised boat arrivals and removing from Australia those who do not qualify for protection.

Before the budget we already had more boats patrolling our northern waters than the previous government and had increased spending on Customs surveillance.  However, the spike in people-smuggling activity worldwide means we need more resources to deal with this global problem—

Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Justice and Public Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Wood interjecting

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have, in fact.

Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Justice and Public Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Wood interjecting

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Randall interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for La Trobe and the member for Canning.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that this is not an issue Australia faces alone. For example, according to UNHCR estimates, 36,000 people arrived by boat on Italian shores in 2008 and 15,300 in Greece and the Greek Islands. This clearly illustrates that it is a global problem and we need both—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Minister for Home Affairs will resume his seat. When the House comes to order.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Adams interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lyons! The Minister for Home Affairs has the call.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. This is a very important issue. I guess I expected this was such an important issue that there would be a bipartisan approach to these matters, but clearly those opposite do not see it as such an important issue.

In relation to people smugglers, we know—and I am hoping those opposite understand—that people smugglers feed on the vulnerabilities of the millions of people affected by regional and global conflicts like those in Afghanistan, the recent conflict in Sri Lanka and those in Pakistan and in Somalia, to name a few. Those conflicts of course have led to an increase in people smuggling and an increase in those people seeking refuge. People smuggling, as we know, is an abhorrent and despicable trade. And the Rudd government will continue to take all necessary and all reasonable steps to end this criminal transnational business.

That is why we have provided a $654 million strategy for governments to combat people-smuggling and strengthen Australia’s border. We are funding strategies that will support the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Australian Federal Police and other government agencies to work with source and transit countries to stop ventures before they can be launched. Customs have provided over $405 million to deter people from attempting the dangerous journey to get to Australia. Customs will also provide the resources to work with governments and intelligence agencies in critical transit countries and to detect and intercept boats on the way to Australia through increased maritime patrol and surveillance.

The Australian Federal Police have been provided with a further $41.6 million to enhance the capacity of the people-smuggling strike team and foreign law enforcement agencies. The Australian Federal Police will build the capacity of law enforcement agencies in critical transit countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka by financing local law enforcement operations and by providing training and operational support. The government will also spend $13.6 million over two years to strengthen our legal and prosecution capacity—again, another very important element to the government’s strategy. Our border protection and people-smuggling policies are tough and they are strong. This government is determined to stop people-smugglers and to keep the borders of our nation safe.